Scaevola plant named ‘Bonsca 165’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola plant named ‘Bonsca 165’, characterized by its relatively compact and mounding plant habit; freely branching habit; early and freely flowering habit; long flowering period; bright and pale yellow green-colored flowers; and good container and garden performance.

Botanical designation: Scaevola aemula.

Cultivar denomination: ‘BONSCA 165’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY INVENTOR/APPLICANT & ASSIGNEE

The Inventor/Applicant and Assignee assert that no publications nor advertisements relating to sales, offers for sale or public distribution occurred more than one year prior to the effective filing date of this application. Any information about the claimed plant would have been obtained from a direct or indirect disclosure from the Inventor/Applicant and/or the Assignee. Inventor/Applicant and Assignee claim a prior art exemption under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) for disclosure and/or sales prior to the filing date but less than one year prior to the effective filing date.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola plant, botanically known as Scaevola aemula and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Bonsca 165’.

The new Scaevola plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact, mounding and early-flowering Scaevola plants with numerous attractive flowers.

The new Scaevola plant originated from an open-pollination in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia in December, 2015 of a proprietary selection of Scaevola aemula identified by the code number 14-228, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown proprietary selection of Scaevola aemula, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Scaevola plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia in December, 2016.

Asexual reproduction of the new Scaevola plant by vegetative tip cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, Australia since December, 2016 has shown that the unique features of this new Scaevola plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Scaevola have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Bonsca 165’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Bonsca 165’ as a new and distinct Scaevola plant:

-   -   1. Relatively compact and mounding plant habit.     -   2. Freely branching habit.     -   3. Early and freely flowering habit.     -   4. Long flowering period.     -   5. Bright and pale yellow green-colored flowers.     -   6. Good container and garden performance.

Plants of the new Scaevola can be compared to plants of the female parent selection. Plants of the new Scaevola differ primarily from plants of the female parent selection in growth habit as plants of the new Scaevola are not as compact as plants of the female parent selection.

Plants of the new Scaevola can be compared to plants of the Scaevola aemula ‘Wesscaesun’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,344. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Scaevola differ from plants of the ‘Wesscaesun’ in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Scaevola are more compact than plants of         ‘Wesscaesun’.     -   2. Plants of the new Scaevola have shorter internodes than         plants of ‘Wesscaesun’.     -   3. Plants of the new Scaevola have smaller leaves than plants of         ‘Wesscaesun’.     -   4. Plants of the new Scaevola flower earlier than plants of         ‘Wesscaesun’.     -   5. Plants of the new Scaevola have smaller flowers than plants         of ‘Wesscaesun’.     -   6. Plants of the new Scaevola and ‘Wesscaesun’ differ in flower         petal color as plants of the new Scaevola have bright and pale         yellow green-colored flower petals whereas plants of         ‘Wesscaesun’ have bright and light yellow-colored flower petals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Scaevola plant showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Scaevola plant.

The photograph on the first sheet (FIG. 1) comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Bonsca 165’ grown in a container.

The photograph on the second sheet (FIG. 2) is a close-up view of typical flowers of ‘Bonsca 165’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photographs and following observations, measurements and values describe plants grown during the late summer in 24-cm containers in an outdoor nursery in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan and under cultural practices typical of commercial Scaevola production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 15° C. to 30° C. and night temperatures ranged from 13° C. to 25° C. Plants were three months old when the photographs and the detailed description were taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2015 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

-   Botanical classification: Scaevola aemula ‘Bonsca 165’. -   Parentage:     -   -   Female, or seed, parent.—Proprietary selection of Scaevola             aemula identified as code number 14-228, not patented.         -   Male or pollen parent.—Unknown proprietary selection of             Scaevola aemula, not patented. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—By vegetative tip cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots, summer.—About ten days at             temperatures about 21° C. to 25° C.         -   Time to initiate roots, winter.—About 15 days at             temperatures about 18° C. to 21° C.         -   Time to develop roots, summer.—About three weeks at             temperatures about 21° C. to 25° C.         -   Time to develop roots, winter.—About four weeks at             temperatures about 18° C. to 21° C.         -   Root description.—Fibrous; typically white in color, actual             color of the roots is dependent on substrate composition,             water quality, fertilizer type and formulation, substrate             temperature and physiological age of roots.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching; medium density. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant and growth habit.—Relatively compact and mounding             plant habit; moderately vigorous growth habit.         -   Branching habit.—Freely branching habit with lateral             branches potentially forming at every node; pinching             enhances branching potential.         -   Plant height.—About 23 cm.         -   Plant diameter (area of spread).—About 75 cm. -   Lateral branch description:     -   -   Length.—About 28.8 cm.         -   Diameter.—About 2.2 mm.         -   Internode length.—About 1.8 cm.         -   Aspect.—Upright to outwardly.         -   Texture.—Sparsely pubescent; rough.         -   Color.—Close to 137B. -   Leaf description:     -   -   Arrangement.—Alternate, simple; sessile.         -   Length.—About 4.4 cm.         -   Width.—About 2.7 cm.         -   Shape.—Oblanceolate.         -   Apex.—Acute.         -   Base.—Attenuate.         -   Margin.—Serrate.         -   Texture, upper and lower surfaces.—Sparsely pubescent.         -   Venation pattern.—Pinnate, reticulate.         -   Color.—Developing leaves, upper surface: Close to 137A.             Developing leaves, lower surface: Close to 144A. Fully             expanded leaves, upper surface: Close to 147A; venation,             close to 138B. Fully expanded leaves, lower surface: Close             to 138A; venation, close to 143C. -   Flower description:     -   -   Flower type and shape.—Zygomorphic, semi-circular,             fan-shaped flowers with five petals fused at the base to             form a tubular flower throat; flower throat open along the             upper surface exposing the reproductive organs.         -   Flower arrangement and quantity.—Solitary sessile flowers             arising from upper leaf axils; flowers mostly horizontal;             freely flowering habit with typically about 224 flowers per             plant.         -   Flowering time.—Early flowering habit, plants begin             flowering after about three to four weeks after planting;             long flower period, plants flower continuously from spring             into autumn in Japan.         -   Flower longevity.—Flowers typically last about a week on the             plant; flowers not persistent.         -   Fragrance.—None detected.         -   Flower buds.—Length: About 1.5 cm. Diameter: About 2.6 mm.             Shape: Lenticular. Color: Close to 144A.         -   Flowers.—Diameter: About 1.2 cm by 1.7 cm. Depth: About             8.5 mm. Throat diameter: About 4.5 mm. Tube length: About             1.2 cm. Tube diameter, mid-section: About 3 mm. Tube             diameter, proximally: About 1.6 mm.         -   Petals.—Quantity per flower: Five, fused at base. Length,             beyond tube: About 9 mm. Width, beyond tube: About 3.3 mm.             Shape: Oblanceolate. Apex: Cuspidate. Margin: Entire.             Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous.             Texture, throat: Pubescent. Texture, tube: Pubescent. Color:             When opening, upper and lower surfaces: Close to 155C. Fully             opened, upper surface: Close to 150C; towards the apex,             close to 4D; color does not change with development. Fully             opened, lower surface: Close to 55C; midrib, close to 150C;             color does not change with development. Throat, distally:             Close to N144D. Throat, proximally: Close to N144B;             venation, close to 144B. Tube: Close to N144D; venation,             close to 144B.         -   Sepals.—Quantity per flower: Two. Length: About 4.9 mm.             Width: About 1.4 mm. Shape: Lanceolate. Apex: Acute. Base:             Fused. Margin: Entire. Texture, upper and lower surfaces:             Pubescent. Color, upper surface: Close to NN137B. Color,             lower surface: Close to 137C.         -   Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Stamen quantity per flower:             Five. Filament length: About 2 mm. Filament color: Close to             149D. Anther size: About 0.7 mm by 2.7 mm. Anther shape:             Ellipsoidal. Anther color: Close to 10B. Pollen: Sparse.             Pollen color: Close to 4C. Gynoecium: Pistil quantity per             flower: One. Pistil length: About 1.2 cm. Style color: Close             to 144D tinged with close to 59A; hairs, close to 59A.             Stigma color: Close to 145D. Ovary color: Close to 144C.         -   Seeds and fruits.—To date, seed and fruit development have             not been observed on plants of the new Scaevola. -   Garden performance: Plants of the new Scaevola have been observed to     have good garden performance and to tolerate rain, wind and     temperatures ranging from about 0° C. to about 40° C. -   Pathogen & pest resistance: To date, plants of the new Scaevola have     not been shown to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to     Scaevola plants. 

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct Scaevola plant named ‘Bonsca 165’ as illustrated and described. 